Metadata Services

The Metadata Services LibGuide serves as a place for information including best practices, instructional documentation, and other resources pertaining to the creation and use of metadata at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library.

Contact Us!

What is Metadata?

Libraries have a long history of collecting, managing, and preserving information. The key to libraries being able to carry out these missions is the proper organization of the information resources they curate. Metadata allows us to open up access to libraries’ resources. Metadata enhances the accessibility of resources now and ensures future access by providing descriptive, technical, and preservation information. A metadata record is contained in a metadata standard that provides the proper semantics for organizing the information that describes the resource, and is created based on a set of rules, i.e., a content standard.

While metadata is a fundamental means of bringing order to library collections, libraries can no longer rely exclusively on a single metadata standard, or a single content standard. As libraries collect more resources in diverse formats from diverse sources, librarians must create metadata for these resources using different metadata standards and content standards. This LibGuide introduces metadata standards and content standards used in libraries and other cultural heritage institutions.

Metadata Services

The Metadata Services Team thrives to promote the library's rich collections to users on campus and worldwide. We provide services to develop and implement metadata models for digital collections and systems, and help support the metadata needs of faculty and students on campus. We also create metadata for all types of digital resources including images, maps, a/v materials, and other documents, to ensure access and discovery to the library's vast resources.

Services Include:

Examining the best Metadata Standards options for your collection

Selecting appropriate controlled vocabularies for your metadata

Providing instruction on the best practices for creating metadata

Providing instruction on the use and best practices of digital content management systems